The arc, in one table
| Academic year | Women's share of US computer science bachelor's degrees |
|---|---|
| 1983–84 — the peak | 37.1% |
| 1984–85 | 36.8% |
| 1985–86 | 35.7% |
| 2007–08 — the floor | 17.6% |
| 2008–09 | 17.8% |
| 2021–22 — most recent | 22.6% |
Computed from the degree counts published in NCES Digest of Education Statistics Table 325.35, which covers computer and information sciences. The table prints counts, not shares, so these percentages are our arithmetic on its numbers and can be checked against it directly.
What the USDA records about Mitchell County
Low employment — a low share of adults aged 25 to 64 are in work. Where that is true, the argument for a route that pays from the first day rather than one that charges tuition first is not ideological, it is arithmetic.
Population loss — fewer people live here than at each of the two previous censuses. School consolidation follows population loss, and a consolidated school with one science teacher does not add a computer science course by choosing to.
USDA Economic Research Service County Typology classifications, not our characterisation of the place.
What Mitchell County runs on
The USDA classifies Mitchell County as mining and energy-dependent, so the employers here are largely field services, transport and equipment contractors. Those operations run on systems somebody has to maintain, and the first technical job in a county like this is usually keeping something already here running rather than building something new. This is a genuine entry point. It is the one with the most flexible hours.
How far the routes reach from here
The Census places Mitchell County in the Sweetwater, TX commuting zone — where people living here actually travel to work. The right search radius for a community college, a career centre, an apprenticeship sponsor and a workforce board. Searching the county alone is the most common reason someone decides there is nothing available.
What is guaranteed in Mitchell County, TX regardless
A local workforce board covers this county and can fund training under WIOA — every county in the United States is covered by one, and people re-entering the workforce after time out of it are a named priority in that system. And community college admission is open enrollment, so nobody here with a high school diploma or equivalent can be turned away for not being qualified enough to start.
What is already paid for
- WIOA — federal training money through your local workforce board, in every county, and displaced homemakers are a named category in that system. Not a loan. CareerOneStop.
- Registered apprenticeships — a wage from the first day. apprenticeship.gov.
- Pell grants — do not have to be repaid, and most families who qualify never file. studentaid.gov.
- Dual enrollment — college credit on a high school transcript, funded by most states.
- Employer tuition reimbursement and certification vouchers — among the least-claimed benefits in American employment. Ask in writing.
Programme names, amounts and deadlines change. These are the doors; verify current terms with the source before counting on a number.
All Texas countiesAll eight routes
Photographs on this campaign are licensed stock used as illustration — not portraits of the people inside the federal counts. Full credits: CREDITS.md.